Journey on the Styx

across the river Styx Cheron rows

his boat, crafted by the best,

his oars, powerful and steadfast,

his job, mindless and boring

transporting the dead into Hades

for the extremity they deserve,

the wife of Pallas overseas it all

receiving her underworld orders

paying the ferryman with life

on a endless journey ending

in the fanciful domain of hell...

eldest of the oceanids she was

daughter of the titan by the same name

she rules her domain with grace

and the heartlessness of a warrior,

life from death is separated here

whether you be willing or not,

Cheron cares not who you once were

only that you are now in his boat

and only he controls your fate and

only he can be bribed to return you,

perhaps judged prematurely you were,

perhaps not - time is not on your side,

enjoy the journey - home soon you are,

November 12, 2025

False Illumination

bright lights penetrate morning fog

a celestial renaissance rebirth

no handmaidens standing by

no influence of any kind

authority pushed aside this day,

blue skies and fluffy clouds ride

along the horizon - a pretense of

what's to come - landlords claim

right before an increase in fees,

we are led to believe by our peers

crime is a byproduct of affluence

so, we have none of that around,

lending our futures to caretakers

who race mustangs on Sundays,

bright lights reach us eventually

clearing up all of mental fogs

and those yet to be, like some

soulless journey we all must take

before we are allowed to think,

disturbing not those around us

but those who are inside us

with their constant bantering

and reminders of our inferiority.

November 11, 2025

Life and Liberty

heroes on the battlefields

all walks of life too,

seen and unseen they are

doing what needs to be done,

giving not receiving is

their nom du jour,

faithful and forthright

their creed by which they

lay down their lives

if need be...   we honor

and salute them, those of us

who were left behind for

one reason or another,

we now stand along the streets

of their parades, listen to

their speeches - share their words,

giving a little back as they

gave so much to us - life and

liberty for all - a motto by

which we all should live one day.

November 11, 2025

Early Winter

a dusting of white, lays on the ground
unexpected at bedtime last,
cardinals walk aimlessly searching
squirrels watch in amazement,
young trees covered with plastic bags
just in case scenarios practiced,
out the windows this morning peered
along with curious neighbors,
freezing weather flowed into the valley
before celebrating thanks for life...
coffee on the stove brewing
smells waffle through the house,
sweaters out of storage found,
worn to save heating bills...
a blanket of white covers the land
especially in southern hemisphere,
fruit trees cry out for protection
in a worthless quiet and stoic way,
frosted windows glisten like stain glass
when sunlight shines inside...
a heartless introspection of winter
invaded our space at the wrong time.

November 10, 2025

Remorseless Greed

false interpretations lead us nowhere
expecting others to take care of us
surrogate parents and the like,
giving what we want...
whenever we ever we need it,
disposal currency shared openly,
willingly and without shame,
taken carelessly - but intentional,
always more - endless desires
underscoring it all as if the wealthy
wanted it less than we do...
no terminal desire - no endless dreams
fetch and carry - give me more
fetch and carry - pay my rent
fetch and carry - buy my food,
we are all the same without our
unique differences, preventing the
notion of more skillful or talented,
making us all less than just average,
treating us all the same...
money for all - quinch your desires
here in the city where only politicians
can live high on the hog as our expense,
but we are the same in all aspects
and only we can share the spoils
of the greedy life that brought us here.

November9, 2025

Democratic Behaviors

a sea of ignorance floats past us daily
politicians bickering for re-elections
journalists selling their stories
influencers peddling their opinions
an ocean of lies washes up on the
mental interests as we gather-up the
details of life in iambic pentameter,
out of context are voices taken
spinning words this way and that
hoping to influence one's doubts or
one's beliefs just momentarily...
heightened expressions of lies
permeate our society daily with the
sole purpose of peddling rumors for
the sake of rumors, change minds
to change votes and redistrict to keep
the other side from winning at all
or ever again in this lifetime at least.

November 11, 2025

Satan's Resurrection

shout out loud
into the heavens
from whence we came,
those who brought us here
gone forever...
peer into the light
for it is now darkness and
crime waits for
you to arrive patently,
a dawn of three wolves
waiting to be seen, 
heard and tasted,
an artistic muse of sorts
beckoning
in one's thoughts...
in one's soul...
in one's heart...
even the heartless, who's
drawers remain open,
purse strings closed
to the orphaned,
those who would be somebody
but are not and never will,
the curse of the advantaged
not to see despair
in a land full of inequalities
save the one who has
or will come for us all.

November 7, 2025

Legacies Found

alone in the night
naked and afraid, brought
thousands before us
came here...
pursuing fortune,
life anew,
safety and security,
beneath our robes
sacred and pure
seeds of our future
brought and sowed,
anointed with the blessings
sacrifice and courage,
light unto light
dark unto dark
forsaken or not we
all came here exposed,
fearful of life
fearful of death
kneeling before our master
as if sitting in the 
first row of pews,
we saw and replaced
that which was here
with that which was not,
changing landscapes
and environments to suit
our infantile purposes,
and naked and afraid
we left our legacies.

November 7, 2025

Terminal Determination

days spent wondering and sleeping

nights regurgitate the darkness that

has become so prominent in my mind,

afternoon deliver conscious criticisms

of the way the mornings behaved,

callously omitting the mental invasions

that burrowed down to the very soul,

leaving me sick, wounded, and afraid

of the hours ahead moving slowly...

drafts of opinions lay on the floor

with the filthy dirt of previous lives,

casted down upon me from the heavens,

whose rights were forsaken at birth,

along with its sacred, decadent religion

that brought me into this abhorrent world,

while my mind gently weeps from the

lack of attention parental advice gave,

mocking the very fabric of life under

which my presence became known...

days spent drifting and dreaming

casted out by the sunlight

ignored by the evening moon

tempted by the fires of the demon

but saved by Sisyphus's stone.

November 4, 2025

No Normal Endings

casual uncertainty rules today

like yesterday, the day before,

sitting under the shade of

previous thoughts not always

are they the way they are...

city dwellers and country folk

tend to tie their shoes differently

opposing views held that all

the same point to depression,

a deepening desire who have

aged past their usefulness,

both perceived and imagined,

resting in the comforts of

obsolete memories designated

by those in controls - death

goes as it is willed to go...

sitting on the edge of comfort

watching days flow by slowly,

noticing the shifts in clouds

and the faces they presented,

the sun moving dangerously

close to the rising moon,

wishing it were the other way

around as time captures the of

what we what we left behind.

November 4, 2025

Winter is Coming

the ends justify the means

politically sound and confident

cool as summer winds in August,

do what you need to do to

a guaranteed solution desired

countries vow - threaten revenge

visions created in dark rooms

moments lived and re-lived

lands taken and lost - nuclear

threats permeate the landscape

of reasonable minds who have

no desire - live and let live...

anchored in global faith of a 

life forever with children who

have rights for something better,

political bullies exercise wills

over common sense - denied

tossed into time winds hoping

for quick dissipation, unglued,

evaporation into a darkness

more fearful than the ignorance

that grips our souls, leaving us

what to believe or not to believe,

our world squeezes itself into a

bomb of counterbalancing forces.

November 3, 2025

Visions Undefined

visions from the other side
permeate my mind and soul,
like bricks falling off a wall
or sharks attacking a pier...
bizarre and deadly sights
attached to my retina are
bending my reality, distorting
my views - torn death cycles
in and out and around,
kneading me like raw dough,
sounds from the other side
flow through like lightening
ripping holes in time's fabric
too big to be sewn and too
deep to be patched by emotions,
regretful remembers are viewed
on the other side of the other side
when no one is really looking,
symbols of entropy lingering
in spiritual minds, lacking the
courage to speak out...
rigid teeth claw at the mind
tearing open the truth of lies,
leaving us spellbound and in 
search of the missing master
who controls the afterlife and
living details we tried to hide.

November 1, 2025

Sowing Seeds Lately

dehydrated thoughts linger permanently
in those souls abandoned, declared
too old or young to survive - rituals of
death hang over and around us constantly
beckoning for judicial righteousness,
receiving nothing in return as they say...
we denounce and have been denounced
digging down deeply, critical thinking,
and our lack of superficial awareness
leading to self-discoveries beyond the
scope of one's limited imaginations...
brutally forthright we have become 
in our investigations of same...
counterfeited circumstances projected,
the likely escape the unlikely, and we
dissolve as blocks of sugar in warm tea.
careful considerations like sowing tall
fescue in the spring has been given to
late fall planting as if we knew all along
our chances for success were limited.

November 1. 2025

The Curtain Closes

the day before the day before the day before
the day a lesson learned by all...
filled with esprit des corps, it was
a day viewed around the world and more
a day when all religions came together
a day when all wars ended in peace
a day when black and white united
no more families against families
no more nations against nations
no more will water, land separate us,
it was a day long awaited for and a day
when the heavens opened up the universe
to a global display of fireworks brought
about by the extraterrestrial invasions,
teaching our world not to be aggressive
not to fight amongst ourselves when there
are plenty of them to fight...  and we with
reluctant willingness surrendered our power,
laid down our arms, embracing peace...
it was a day to be remembered and praised
as the final end of God's human race.

October 30, 2025

Poorly Played

yellow, red, brown, and green
are the leaves this fall,
more so in the mountains
than in the valley...
chilly weather and rains
caused them to turn and fall,
spectaculars to observe,
not in cities or in towns as
much as in rural areas
where struggling has begun 
and urban dwellers know little
about how it is for them...
not caring about them as they
care about themselves...
leaders lament along party lines
forcing opinion to change with
what little leverage they possess,
worry not for our neighbors
unless they are illegals...  then,
red is the carpet on which they
walk to pick up benefits.
we behold nothing in the making
except strife and civil war,
social justice favors the wealthy
before the poor, providing
strong shoulders in the middle.

October 30, 2025

Water Flows Live

along the shores of the mind
we walk solo,
sliding our cold feet through
murky thoughts,
remembering and forgetting
many of them,
bound by forces seemingly
out of our control,
eastern waves push against
western sentiments,
conveying little in the brief
process together,
sounds of the seasons play
inside while
bodies mingle with the
changing weather,
on the shoreline are others
walking erratic.
moving in and out of the
shared time,
wooden soldiers in paper boats
sail inward,
closing the gap of pretense
seen earlier,
when small feet walked along
these same sands,
self-incriminations are the shells
picked up,
tossed back into tranquil waters
taken southward,
mental currents alter realities in
which we live.

October 30, 2025

Government Control

blue sky horizon - undistinguishable
imaginable thoughts or not
distant relatives come to visit at last
bringing false memories of hope,
accommodations made for more
few descending on the city,
a mirrored tale of willingness awry,
apologies disclosed and denied
chapters written - the book closed,
mellowed are the lads who fought
for their homeland without pay,
no rain in the forecast says the man
who watches the heavens all the time,
we are due for sunshine and happiness
but fear what's above us will fall...
grey clouds overcome the blue
sunlight gradually fades from sight
a moonless horizon loom carefully
as fishing boats cease to troll...
understanding and proving it are
not one in the same, nor mutually
exclusive can they be - raining is
coming eventually - no motivation
falls on the government nowadays.

October 29, 2025

Seeking Heroes

binding ties broken - a betrayal
vows overlooked after time,
promises never meant to keep
loyalty abandoned forever...
ancestor's products we are
living their lies and miscalculations
finding no end to our creations
save the lessening birthrate,
foreigners breeding in backyards
bringing with them their beliefs
changing our feeble lifestyles
into an erratic issue of compliance
worn thin over time and abuse
by elders who once knew the way.
destined to be replaced, we forge
inappropriate alliances, devils
biting our heels as we dance
around all our responsibilities
hoping a hero will emerge who
will take us away from discontent.

October 29, 2025 

Memories Earlier

stalking each other through the woods
left to right - right to left looking,
not so long ago we were there with
our mates in discourse and action,
pretending an older man, not what
we wanted to become no doubt
later discovering - truth and justice
were as real and as pure as the
thoughts we convey through actions,
young soldiers of backyard wars
fought in empty lots, undeveloped
any need for homes - treehouses
and underground bunkers we built
a fun-filled summer of dirty clothes,
campfires and tents - eating meals
cooked with mess kits, wooden
utensils and foolish, childish laughter,
borne out by the mystique of war,
we were invincible target of fun,
blue jean, t-shirt, and tennis shoe
we spent from dawn to duck and
sometimes more when not raining,
cowboys and Indians too, even when
it mattered not who one might be,
changing and flip flopping throughout
the warm days, spiders and snakes we
seldom saw in our makeshift habitats.

October 29, 2025

The Brass Bra

cold feet, hands and ears
our weather changed
overnight conditions
forced warmer clothes
car heaters used and
furnaces to run overtime,
fall dropped off the edge
leaving us wondering,
shivering to keep warm
innocent and protected,
leaves stuck to branches
no color changes,
no falling to the ground,
no hot chocolate with
our oatmeal cookies,
chilly winds blow back
and forth between stalks
of corn not yet harvested,
surprise...  surprise...
came the unexpected,
waking up to the cold and
damp that entered our room
the night before, caulking
not yet completed from the
early home inspection...
a pale gray sky surround
the heavens that offer us
little comfort in the way
it has been abandoned,
layered clothes we wear in
the hopes of being misled.

October 27, 2025

Quizzical Questing

Quietly,

the morning slips into my mind

consciousness full

sound blend with yesterday's memories.

Quickly,

light is upon me - in all directions

birds looking for shelter

impending rains.

Quality,

blending of sights, sounds, imaginations

foaming to break free from

the surrounding atmosphere.

Quarterly,

the day begins with me or my observations

season fly by unnoticed when

when eagles circle nearby.

Qualitatively,

moods change inside out - outside in

pawning themselves out to

the highest living bidder.

Questionably,

all my views have been surrendered

observations as well as thoughts

leaving me hollow inside.

Qualmishly,

my days end in a rush - prepared reluctance

drowning in self-pity, self-inflicted

failing to see the fading light.

October 26, 2025